It's Snowing
by Lil'wystynyra
Summary: “Your eyes are like mine.” This follows the life of Haku and Zabuza, sharing insights not found within the manga beginning when they meet. Later on in the story, there will be slight shounen-ai (Haku-Zabuza). The rating will eventually go up to PG-13
1. Prologue: Innocent Eyes

Hey All! I have been wanting to write this story for a while. Ever since I finally saw the anime version of the episodes with Haku. I have to say it, Haku is my favourite character. Out of all the Naruto characters, Haku will always be my favourite. Probably has something to do with my obsession with Haku's (Spirited Away). But anyways… In this story I'll be covering some of the time spent between Zabuza and Haku over the years. Unfortunately, they will still die. And hopefully I'll be able to capture the same emotions. Or atleast well enough to make you all cry. :-) I bawled in the manga and anime hehe. I recommend listening to music while reading this story. When I'm able to, I'll even put it up on a website for people to access.  
  
Recommended song for this chapter: Missing Piece  
  
Actually a song from Gravitation, I'm not sure if Missing Piece is the real name. If you'd like it, e-mail me and I'll send it :-) I have a wide collected of beautiful instrumental songs.

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**..::IT'S SNOWING::..**  
Prologue: Innocent Eyes  
  
"Your eyes are like mine."  
  
Zabuza stared at the child in front of him, a mixture of shock and bewilderment flashing across his face. The dirty young boy simply smiled at him, eyes curling closed happily.  
  
_'Your eyes are like mine?' _  
  
How could a child this young understand the meaning of those words? His eyes were the eyes of someone who had been damned, damned to the very depths of hell. A demon who had killed friends and family, his own and other peoples. He looked deep into the eyes of the child before him. Deep dark pools, which revealed an innocent soul, with a dark secret hidden somewhere in their depths.  
  
Zabuza rocked back on his heels. Yes, they had the same eyes. They'd both experienced the pain of life. The boy had already seen more death and encountered more pain than a lot of people ten times his age. There was a deep strength within this child, but at the same time an amazing purity.   
  
Zabuza stood, and looked down at the child before him, oblivious to the snow falling around them. He took in the dirt and blood encrusted torn clothes, the just as dirty face, and uneven black hair. The collar, with a length of chain dangling from it. The chain meant more to him than it would most people. To him, it showed the child's past. He'd been enslaved, trapped and abused. And though he had broken free, the past still haunted him, as shown by the remnants of the chain.  
  
_'A lot like my own past…'_  
  
The young boy was standing before him now, as though waiting for something. Zabuza reached out a hand, and ruffled the dark greasy hair.  
  
"Come." Was all he said, before wrapping an arm lightly about the boy's shoulders. Zabuza lead the child off, their feet leaving imprints in the snow.

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And there is the prologue… just a beginning.  
  
This story is mainly angst and romance, I doubt there will be much humour in it unfortunately. If anyone has any suggestions to the storyline, feel free to tell me.  
  
Another note… I'm available as a beta-reader at the moment. For more details, check my profile.  
  
I have absolutely no clue how long it'll be before I update this story, or any of my other stories. Yes, they will be updated… whether it's within the month… not sure. With this story it'll probably be updated in a few days, as lately I'm being smashed over the head with inspiration for it. Infact I've already finished the first chapter... Just some fine tuning to go. Btw… if anyone knows where I can get a hold of Naruto manga past chapter 230, or a good site for downloading the anime, please tell!  
  



	2. Chapter 1: You're Mine

Hello Again!  
And here is the second chapter, which is like 4 times longer than the prologue… but that makes sense to me. Anyway, I'll stop blathering on now. Read and Enjoy!  
Recommended Song: Super Drive (Instrumental)  
Again... from Gravitation. Same deal as with the last song... e-mail me if you want it :-)

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**..::IT'S SNOWING::..**  
Chapter 1: You're Mine  
  
**.:Zabuza's POV:.**  
I still remember that day perfectly. It's as though it was yesterday. I can remember the look in his eyes, the way the snow fell around him, and every word he said perfectly. I never used to understand that saying before I met Haku. But now it's the best way to describe my memories of the innocent boy. I treasure the memories of him growing up, spending time with me. They're probably the most precious thing I own, other than the boy himself. I remember when I was younger, and still relatively innocent for me, I used to hear people saying how children grew up so fast. I never understood, always thinking how I was growing up too slowly. But now that Haku's grown, coming up to his 13th birthday, I can't help but think it's all passed by too fast. And I would give anything just to extend our time together.

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Zabuza continued striding along the street of the village, snow flying as his feet kicked through it. The bandages wrapped around his face and neck stopped most of the cold, though his eyes were watering slightly. The child from earlier was held tightly to his chest as he'd been forced to carry the boy when his feet had turned dangerously blue, and he'd been unable to walk. The closer contact with the young boy had brought something to his attention though. Before it had only been a feeling, but now it was like an itch in his nose that just wouldn't go away. He could smell something but couldn't quite put his finger on what. Even stranger though, he wasn't smelling it with his nose. It was like his chakra sense… he could sense something coming from the boy in his arms.  
Zabuza stretched out his chakra, lightly probing the boy in his arms. Yes, there was something there. This child was something different, he could feel it in his chakra. It didn't take Zabuza long to make the next jump in logic, and come to the conclusion that he must be from an advanced bloodline. It made sense, with the boy being homeless. After the wars people had come to hate advanced bloodlines. Someone must have killed his parents, but the boy had managed to escape.  
  
'So there was some use in keeping the boy.' he mused to himself.   
  
Most people were scared of the advanced bloodlines, afraid of their power. But this boy was young… Zabuza could train him, turn him into his own, a new dangerous tool.  
  
He noted he was near his apartment, which looked more like a wooden shack, and so ceased his contemplating of the boy in his arms. Shifting the boy so he could hold him with one arm, Zabuza fished in his pocket for the key, before pulling it out and unlocking the door. He entered the apartment, stepping straight into the kitchen, and kicked off his shoes. The room was small, and rundown like the rest of the house. The walls an floor were wooden, and the only thing stopping the cold from numbing his feet on the floorboards was an old tattered rug. He carried the small boy through the kitchen, into the tiny room he was using as a bedroom. The room didn't look any better than the kitchen, the only difference between them being the pallet on the floor, and bag in the corner. Carefully he set the boy in his arms upon his pallet, before heading to the bathroom. He flicked on the cold water tap, dropping the plug in drain, before going back to the sleeping quarters.  
  
The child… He really had to come up with a name for that boy… was still laying there, seemingly blissfully asleep. The blissfully asleep part being ruined by the shivers which wracked the boy's body. Moving to his pack in the corner of the room, he tugged out an old thick sweater and a pair of pants. Chucking the sweater in the vague direction of the boy, he held up the pants and frowned at them. The sweater being enormous was fine, but the pants would be ridiculous. It wasn't like he had anything else though. He certainly wasn't prepared to clothe a boy who couldn't be over 7. Whipping out a kunai, he eyed the boy, then the pants, then the boy again. Quickly he sliced about a foot and a half off the pants legs. They would do. Picking up the boy, and the clothes again, he carried all three items to the bathroom.  
  
Dumping the clothes on the floor, he began to strip the boy off. The collar came off first, followed by the shirt and pants, and finally a tattered pair of underwear. Now the clothes were removed, an awfully skinny yet healthy body was revealed. For a child of the streets, he wasn't in too bad condition. Carefully, Zabuza slid the boy into the cold water. He settled him there, making sure he wouldn't slip under the water before turning off the cold water, and turning on the hot. He'd been trained as a ninja, and knew well the risks of the cold. If he had dumped the boy in a bath full of hot water he probably would have instantly died from the shock. He pulled out the plug so the water would not overflow, and watched as slowly a pink tinge covered the boy's body. After a while, the deep brown eyes fluttered open, and at this Zabuza replaced the plug and switched off the water.

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Slowly Haku's eyes fluttered open. For the first time in ages he felt fully warm. Remembering the man he'd been walking with, he turned his head to look around. He was sitting in a bath filled with hot water. Crouching beside the bath was the man who had found him on the bridge. Haku smiled at him.  
  
"Hello." He said cheerfully. The man just grunted. They sat there in silence for a few moments, as Haku playfully splashed the bathwater, just a little intimidated by the much larger man. Cautiously he inspected him from the corner of his eye as he hadn't really paid much attention to his looks earlier. He was a big, rather muscular man, and though he was crouching by the bath, Haku could tell was fairly tall. He had brown, rather untidy hair, and dark eyes which seemed to reflect the darkness of his soul. He couldn't really see much of his face because of bandages wrapped around the lower half, and so left it to his imagination.  
  
"What's your name brat?"  
  
Haku looked back up and smiled sweetly, unfazed by being called 'brat'. He'd been called much worse in his life by people closer than this strange man.  
  
"Haku." He smiled again, before adding curiously, "What's yours?"  
  
"Zabuza."  
  
"Thank you for helping me."  
  
Zabuza grunted.  
  
"You'll be a good tool when you're older."  
  
Haku frowned, slightly confused but shrugged it off. He didn't care, someone was talking to him, acknowledging him. It felt wonderful. Haku jumped slightly as he felt something brush across his back. He turned slightly to see what it could be. It was Zabuza's hand, holding a soapy sponge. Haku blinked at the hand.  
  
"Stay still, how can I get you clean if you keep moving?"  
  
Haku turned to face forward again, and resumed his light splashing.  
Zabuza continued to wash Haku, only allowing him to move when his hair needed rinsing.  
Once all the grime was finally off the boy, Zabuza dried Haku off, and dressed him in his altered clothes. Once dressed, he began rubbing vigorously at Haku's hair, in an attempt to dry it. "Zabuza?" Zabuza temporarily stopped drying Haku's hair, waiting for the boy to continue. "What's going to happen to me now?" Though Zabuza couldn't see the boy's face, by the movement in his cheek he could tell he was biting his lip. "You're staying with me." At this, Haku spun around to stare directly into Zabuza's bandaged face. "Why? Everybody hates me for what I am." "And what are you?" Zabuza asked, curious to what the boy would say. "A monster." Haku whimpered and bit his lip again. "They all hate me for my blood, just like my father did." Zabuza looked at the boy, once again staring deep into his eyes. So… he was right, Haku was from an advanced blood line. All the better. "I don't hate you for your blood. I'll train you, and forge you into a tool. My tool. Your blood is useful to me." Haku raised his hands palm up, and stared at them, as though able to see the blood pumping through his veins. A light frown turned the corners of his mouth down. Zabuza reached out, taking Haku's hands in his own. "You're mine now."

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Little harsh don't you think? Telling a 6yr old you're going to use him as a tool? I could have made him worse, but I like Zabuza. When he dies…arg, I melted. I can't dislike him now, so it's hard to make him nasty. But one of the reasons behind this story is to show the otherside of Zabuza, the sensitive side kept locked away within his mind.  
Had this written for a while, just never got around to posting it. I think I'll post more of the storied I've written over the next few days. 


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